Biopharmaceutical company Omeros has been awarded a $6.69 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to develop its oral treatment for cocaine use disorder.
The company's compound, which affects dopamine pathways in the brain, will undergo three years of clinical studies to evaluate its efficacy and safety in patients with cocaine use disorder, according to an April 10 news release from Omeros.
Approximately 1.4 million people in the U.S. have cocaine use disorder, and there were more than 24,000 cocaine-related overdose deaths in 2021, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Currently, there are no FDA-approved drug treatments for cocaine use disorder.